Timing

The old saying that “perception is reality” holds a lot of weight. The main concept is that how someone sees something (perception) to be is their own truth, their reality. I’d take that even further and say that “timing” has a major impact on this concept. Here are a couple of current examples from the sports world.

The Dallas Mavericks trade away a young iconic player and fan favorite. Then a month later with fans threatening to drop their season ticket packages, the Mavs raise ticket prices for next season saying some of the extra revenues would go towards “player investment.” The fan perception is that the new leadership of the team is thoughtless and their staff is tone deaf in making this money grab after downgrading their roster. Bad timing at best.

Free agency season in the NFL is in full swing, with several teams looking at big price tags to retain their top stars. The Cincinnati Bengals and Dallas Cowboys are notorious for not signing their young talented players to long-term contracts until they are forced to do so (author disclosure – I’m a lifelong Cowboys fan so while this hurts to write, it is my reality). The problem is as time goes by, the market usually shifts upward. Look no further than the quarterbacks of the Bengals and Cowboys. Both teams waited to extend their deals and eventually had to pay above the market rate to keep them. Dak Prescott and Joe Burrow are the two highest paid quarterbacks in the league today and neither has really ever won anything at the pro level. This is now repeating itself with these two teams and their existing free agents (Tee Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, and Micah Parsons). These players will get paid just like Dak and Burrow did, but the teams waited too long and will now have to overpay again. The perception here is that the ownership groups for these two teams are either cheap or incompetent or both. Either way, their timing is consistently poor.

So what are the implications for what we all do each and every day? Here are three thoughts…..

One. Invite outside voices into your discussions. Those that are further away from the daily grind of what you are working on can often shed light on something that you may have missed or not thought about. One of the best event bids we were ever part of was thought up by someone nowhere near sports (see “Bidding Outside the Box”). Had the Mavericks polled anyone outside their building on the timing of a ticket price hike, they certainly wouldn’t be in the media pickle they are in today.

Two. Get feedback from your key stakeholders throughout the journey. What is a proverbial “home run” for them? Do their goals align with yours or the organization you serve? If not, figure out how to close that gap or determine if we have the right people in the right seats on the bus (see Jim Collins, Good to Great).

Three. Survey, benchmark, pivot, improve, repeat. There is never a time to sit back and say, “Well, that is perfect, leave it like it is.” Everything and everyone can improve. However knowing where and how to do so requires user feedback. If you are the only one “grading your paper” you are at risk of getting passed by. Listen to the market and take action where appropriate.

All three of these tactics have one thing in common. Read the room. And don’t try and read it all by yourself. Do so at your own peril.

Get input and use it to your advantage. Use the intel to identify the right timing to take action (or NOT to take action) and maximize your impact.